Review: A Rip Through Time (A Rip Through Time #1) by Kelley Armstrong

If I could have one superpower it would be to time travel! It should therefore be no surprise that I LOVE time travel books! When I saw that a new time travel murder mystery novel was coming out, I was absolutely on board for a review! I have read a couple of other time travel murder mysteries and loved them so much so naturally I am always looking for another to satisfy my desire to time travel!

And why does it always seem like every time travel book is set in Scotland? I don’t have the answer nor do I care, because I love how well Scotland works for time travel books. I mean Outlander, need I say more?! When I saw this book was being labeled as a cross between Outlander and The Alienist, I couldn’t WAIT to get my hands on it! I loved both of those books and couldn’t wait to read something in a similar vein that was also different.

To be fair though, not all time travel murder mysteries are created equal and just because a time travel murder mystery set in Scotland calls to my heart, I didn’t want to overly build it up in my mind only to be disappointed. That has happened. to me before so I didn’t want to experience a let down, however I simply couldn’t help but build it up in my mind before I even started it!

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Review: City of Time and Magic (Found Things #4) by Paula Brackston

I have been a long time fan of Paula Brackston and I have read the other books in this series so naturally when this one came up for review, it was a no brainer to say ‘yes’. If you haven’t read the other books in this series, I would not start with this one. This book picks up where the last book left off and continues to build on the series and established characters.

Brackston is known for the ‘witch books’ which I have enjoyed and they are not necessarily part of a ‘series’ but they all maintain similar themes of witchcraft and a bit of a love story. The Found Things books have been different yet have the same trademark story telling style that Brackston is known for. And this book in particular introduces readers to some other characters from the other ‘witch books’ she has written which I thought was fun. I would say you don’t have to read the ‘witch books’ to enjoy this series but the Found Things books should be read in order.

While this is the last book in the Found Things series, Brackston leaves plenty of room to revisit familiar characters and expand on the possibility of spin off series. If you love witchy stories with some history, romance, and time travel this is definitely a series not to be missed! Brackstone is a magical story teller with talent and experience that will delight readers.

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Review: Secrets of the Chocolate House (Found Things #2) by Paula Brackston

Paula Brackston is a favorite author of mine. I’ve read almost all of her books and with each read, I feel like I walked away satisfied and looking forward to the next book.

She has a deft hand with magical realism and all things ‘witchy’. She is probably most known for her ‘witch’ books of which I have read almost all of them (The Silver Witch, The Midnight Witch etc) as well as a host of other works by her.

After reading the first book in this particular series, I was eager to see what direction this book took! After reading this one, I do think that readers who haven’t read the first book, The Little Shop of Found Things, should definitely read that one first before attempting this one. Continue reading “Review: Secrets of the Chocolate House (Found Things #2) by Paula Brackston”

Review: The Little Shop of Found Things (The Little Shop of Found Things #1) by Paula Brackston

Paula Brackston has been a favorite writer of mine for a while now. I have read almost all of her ‘witch’ novels and I love them! She has such a nice voice in her stories and I love the mixture of magic and realism.

When this book came up for review, I was so excited to read it. I loved the cover and the title so much. It looked like something that I was going to be an instant favorite in my magical realism category.

Xanthe and her mother Flora leave London behind for a fresh start, taking over an antique shop in the historic town of Marlborough. Xanthe has always had an affinity with some of the antiques she finds. When she touches them, she can sense something of the past they come from and the stories they hold. So when she has an intense connection to a beautiful silver chatelaine she has to know more.

It’s while she’s examining the chatelaine that she’s transported back to the seventeenth century. And shortly after, she’s confronted by a ghost who reveals that this is where the antique has its origins. The ghost tasks Xanthe with putting right the injustice in its story to save an innocent girl’s life, or else it’ll cost her Flora’s. Continue reading “Review: The Little Shop of Found Things (The Little Shop of Found Things #1) by Paula Brackston”

Review: Echo Moon (Ghost Gifts #3) by Laura Spinella

This book appealed to me for a couple of reasons, but one in particular stood out above all the other general ‘pick me’ signs that I saw in the pitch. The thing that caught my eye was the twist between historical fiction and magical realism/paranormal.

This book is set during the Great War (hello my favorite era) but yet has paranormal characters and the combo between the two interested me.

They sound like two very conflicting different genres and the first thing that I thought was ‘this could go one of two ways—really bad or really good’. So I agreed to review this one.

Knowing that it was the third in the series, I was prepared to be a little lost in the story but I had seen that many readers said it could stand alone so I was hopeful that that was truly the case.  Continue reading “Review: Echo Moon (Ghost Gifts #3) by Laura Spinella”